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Culture at Barwon Water

Let’s work together for a shared future this NAIDOC week

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Barwon Asset Solutions (BAS) redesigned its recruitment process to make field roles more inclusive. BAS used peer storytelling, updated job descriptions and removed barriers in the process. This resulted in an increase in women applying and being hired. Why this work was needed BAS is a subsidiary of Barwon Water. It provides civil maintenance services across the Barwon region. Like many utilities, it has faced challenges attracting women into field-based roles. The organisation wanted to change this. It aimed to build a workforce that better reflected the community it served. BAS used a women’s focus group to find barriers to women’s participation. And then explored how to create a more inclusive workplace. What staff told them BAS spoke with women already working in civil roles. It asked what drew them to the job and what could improve the experience for others. The job title at the time was ‘Customer Field Maintenance Officer’. Many said it didn’t reflect the reality of their work. The position description also lacked clarity and relevance. BAS updated the job title to ‘Infrastructure Field Crew’ and rewrote the position description. These changes gave a clearer, more inclusive picture of the role. What changed in the recruitment process BAS made several changes to improve accessibility and candidate engagement. They: Introduced a general job portal for a long period of time so people could apply and open to receiving applications at any time Created short videos of staff describing their roles and workplace culture Shared the videos through LinkedIn and its careers page Listed a woman already in the role as the contact person Provided information about flexibility, expectations and training Kept in touch with applicants for future opportunities. Letting candidates speak with someone in the job made a big difference. People could ask about school drop-off, part-time options and what the work was really like. These changes made the process more personal, open and inclusive. Supporting candidate attraction through storytelling To showcase its inclusive culture, BAS developed a series of short videos. Real employees spoke about their roles, giving prospective applicants a sense of the day-to-day experience. These videos also reflected the organisation’s inclusive values. The videos were promoted through digital channels and remain available on the Barwon Water careers page. Watch the campaign videos: Professional and Early Careers at Barwon Water Field and Trades at Barwon Water Careers at Barwon Water What happened next The results were clear. BAS received 22 applications from women for civil maintenance roles. Previously, it was uncommon to receive more than two or three. Three women were hired. BAS kept in touch with other applicants and considered them for future roles. Not long after, a land management position became available. Again, more women than men applied. Two more women were hired into field-based roles. What BAS is doing now BAS has embedded inclusive recruitment into its everyday practice. It now uses gender-neutral language in job ads and provides clear role information up front. These changes help more people feel confident to apply. BAS also ensures candidates can speak with peers, ask real questions and picture themselves in the role. BAS also looked at other things that help people decide whether to take a job. These include clear communication, workplace culture, flexible options and practical support. This helps people decide whether the job is right for them. It also helps Barwon Water keep building a more inclusive workforce.

Not to mention, our award winning Head Office has purpose built facilities including a parent’s room, mindfulness room and end of trip facilities featuring change rooms and even a secure lock up for your bicycle. 

Belonging and Inclusion

We celebrate our diversity, show respect and appreciate the unique talents and perspectives that each of us brings to work each day.

We know that diverse voices means bring different views and experiences together to help us find the best solutions in our work.

We recognise that while we can set diversity targets and measure progress in numbers, inclusion is deeper and harder to measure. An inclusive workplace asks the question: is our culture able to support every employee to contribute, optimise their potential, grow, and be valued for their perspective, skills and for who they are?

In our workplace we all take responsibility to learn about how our colleagues can be supported to perform at their best.

An inclusive culture is the responsibility of every employee individually and collectively. That is why evidence-based diversity and inclusion training is provided to all our employees.

Early Career Opportunities 

Looking to kick start your career?

Through key industry and tertiary partnerships, we offer a number of programs for early-career development.

Whether you’re a trainee or apprentice, a recent university graduate or even PhD candidate, explore your options with us. 

Options include:

• Traineeships
• Graduate Program
• Summer Internships
• Scholarships and industry-based internships

Our Recruitment Process

Apply online

If you’ve found the job you’re looking for and think you would be a good fit, apply online. 

If you would like to discuss the job before you apply, please get in touch. Most of our vacancies include a direct phone number; usually the person you’ll be reporting to if you’re successful in landing the role! 

You will receive an automatic acknowledgement of receipt of your application within 48 hours. If you’ve progressed to the next stage of the selection process, you’ll hear from a member of our People (human resources) team.

If you haven’t heard from us within 2 weeks of the closing date, your application hasn’t progressed. 

Unfortunately, we don’t notify unsuccessful applicants directly.

Please note, we don’t accept speculative applications, and we won’t keep your résumé on-file for potential future openings.

Our interview process

Interviews can be a bit daunting but we encourage you to be as relaxed as possible about the interview experience.

We’ve read your application and we like what we see. Now we want to know a bit more about you.

As far as possible, we conduct our interviews in an informal and conversational style.

Starting right

Congratulations we are so excited that you have chosen Barwon Water to further your career.

We invite you to dive into your career with us and take advantage of all the opportunities you will be presented with during your employment with Baron Water.

As part of your onboarding experience with us, we are committed to ensuring that you feel as welcomed and supported as possible. Just some of the things you can expect as part of our 12 month Employee Onboarding Experience; a site tour where you will be spending the day out on site visiting some of our reservoirs and treatment plants. This is a great way to get to know the other new joiners and connect our work here across our service region that expands over 8,000 square kilometres to the physical delivery of water to our customers.

You will also take part in a Connection to Country excursion to one of the many culturally significant sites located across our region and is hosted by the Traditional Owners from the Wadawarrung community. This in depth program provides the foundation for creating an appropriate and respectful workplace culture for all employees.